Making A Meaningful Impact With You
I’ve got good news, and bad news for you.
The good news? That even despite COVID, because of your investments over the decades, this could be one of the most impactful times in our charity’s history.
The bad news? Our sector has a problem and we need to be honest about that because we are not immune to this problem either. It has prioritized scale over sustainability. This has led to, by some estimates, 7 out of 10 water access points (things like wells or tap stands) put in across Africa having failed and over $1.2 billion dollars, in the last 20 years alone, wasted in short-lived clean water projects.
There are a lot of reasons why this is the case, and we will unpack these with you over the coming months. Much of it comes down to focusing on the wrong things: clean water as a one time moment (taps turn on, so our work is done) and fundraising as a one time, urgent event (Give Now! Give Today!) – not building in enough costs for the necessary sustainability work that even the most dedicated, community owned systems require.
We are guilty of both.
Dramatic improvements have been made over the past decade, but the sector still has a long way to go. We still have a long way to go. Today we are taking a big leap forward.
The good news is that Acts for Water is positioned unlike any other to leverage over 30 years worth of water systems (23 million dollars worth of assets in the ground) to serve tens of thousands of people in the coming years with an incredible ROI! If we just shift our mindset a bit.
1. Our oldest systems are still running, still delivering through clean water projects to tens of thousands of people, and we know that if we inject our newest technology into these old systems, we can extend their lifespan for generations to come.
2. While we’re there in those communities, we can teach the essentials of sanitation and invest in the hygiene health of their schools to help them thrive.
3. We can extend the infrastructure that has already been built to reach brand new communities by adding extensions to reach new villages.
We can do all of this at a fraction of the cost of strictly building new systems! Together, we can transform so many lives. But the change we need to make here is this: we need your help to get us off of the fundraising treadmill. The one that keeps us focusing on Give Now as the one time, urgent event, and towards a more sustainable, long term vision. Joining our monthly membership community – The Source Supporters – is the number one way you can help us send more money to Uganda and spend less of it here on fundraising. Instead, we can focus on creating impact, and sharing that impact with you!
2020 showed us what is possible when people come together to create incredible change. We know that 2021 can hold even more as we leverage the past and launch into the future!
Join The Source Supporters HERE to create a lasting impact towards the elimination of water poverty.